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Rupert Wyatt To Resurrect A Horror Icon By Helming TV Pilot Of The Exorcist

Fox is moving fast in its efforts to resurrect dormant horror classic The Exorcist. Barely a week has passed since the network ordered a pilot episode of the modern reimagining, and now Fox has appointed director Rupert Wyatt at the helm.

Best known for his work across Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Mark Wahlberg drama The Gambler, Wyatt will take point for a reinvention of William Peter Blatty’s seminal 1971 book, a different spin on an old horror that has been pitched as a “serialized psychological thriller following two very different men tackling one family’s case of horrifying demonic possession and confronting the face of true evil.”

For Wyatt, it marks a return to TV following a string of stop-starts in the blockbuster space. Not long after opting to pass up tentpole sequel Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, the filmmaker also pulled out of The Equalizer and, more recently, the Channing Tatum-fronted X-Men spinoff, Gambit. Wyatt’s past TV credits, meanwhile, include a TV pilot for ABC’s period drama, Turn.

As for The Exorcist, Wyatt is also on board to executive produce the project, working from a script penned by Jeremy Slater. James Robinson, David Robinson and Barbara Wall will also assume producing duties, with the TV reimagining supported by both Morgan Creek Productions and 20th Century Fox’s TV division.

No word yet on a production timeline for The Exorcist TV pilot. With Wyatt instated at the helm though, we imagine it won’t be long before Fox dive deep into the supernatural, and the studio will surely be taking strides for a more successful return than the nixed reimagining of Minority Report.